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Government Watch

December 05, 2012, 05:00 AM

State government

• State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo, officially introduced legislation Monday that will prohibit executive pay hikes (using state or foundation funds) at the California State University or the University of California during bad budget years or when student fees increase.

In 2009, Yee passed similar legislation to this session’s SB 8, but the bill was vetoed by former governor. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gov. Jerry Brown has publicly stated that UC and CSU should resist pay hikes for their top administrators, according to Yee’s office.

City government

• The Foster City Council voted in Pam Frisella as its next mayor and Charlie Bronitsky as vice mayor at its Monday night meeting. Frisella took the gavel from outgoing mayor Art Kiesel.

• On Monday, the Burlingame City Council approved a $25,000 study by Telecommunications Engineering Associates of the current police dispatch system before any upgrades take place. The study is the first step in possibly implementing a virtual dispatch system that can increase the chance of partnering with other cities. The council also gave the go-ahead to possibly make the upgrades through a $400,000 contract with SunRidge system.

• The Redwood City Council voted unanimously to enter into historic property preservation contracts with the Fox Theatre at 2215 Broadway and a three-bedroom home at 726 Brewster Ave. that dates from 1908. The contracts give the owners tax breaks between 40 and 60 percent for a minimum of 10 years with the understanding the money will be used for renovation and maintenance.

• David Lim was voted in as San Mateo’s next mayor at the City Council’s Monday night meeting and Robert Ross was named deputy mayor. Lim takes over the position from outgoing mayor Brandt Grotte.

• The city of San Carlos, in conjunction with Cisco and Streetline, began Tuesday offering a free app called Parker which lets motorists view real-time parking availability in the downtown San Carlos area on Laurel Street between Olive Street and San Carlos Avenue. Download the free app at www.theparkerapp.com.

Education

• The Redwood City Elementary School District is planning for expansion. Among the list of ideas is possibly expanding Orion Alternative School to house more students. Adding extra classrooms to create space for more children wasn’t welcomed by the 40 percent of parents who responded to a survey. On Wednesday, the board will discuss the idea along with the parent opinions and building options.

At the same meeting, the board will consider a letter of intent from Siemens Energy to study infrastructure and operational efficiencies of 16 schools and the district office. The analysis would allow for the development of plan to implement energy efficiency measures. The timeline calls for the analysis to be completed in late January. The analysis is estimated to cost $35,000 which could be included in a larger agreement should both sides agree to one.